Codec list

[Graham]

I've been using VMR custom on WinXP. Is fse a better choice?

FSE gives me smoother playback and smoother menu transitions. Downside is that when GBPVR hangs (rarely), it is a pain to get into Task Manager.

My suggestion would be to use FSE unless you have a good reason not to.

[McBainUK]

Hmm, with a recent upgrade to a dual core AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e (2x2.6Ghz) and a ATI HD4350 (still WinXP) I thought I'd throw some processing power at the problem and be able to use FSE custom. FSE is worth a try I guess.

[imagn]

I have found that the Verticle Sync option fixed my tearing, this can be found in the all settings under 3D, just make sure its set to always on, I did notice a difference a better playback in FSE mode rather than custom.

I had some other issues in XP though and really could find the right combination of codecs and renderers for my needs on a 790GX onboard HD3300 (mostly HD), moving to vista solved a lot of playback issues for me, but from my experience everthing i have read pointed to the vsync and deinterlacing on 1080i causing issues. I did find that the cyberlink codec and the intervideo codec gave me somewhat decent playback in XP.

Not sure what will work for you so far i have leard that everyone seems to have different results

[McBainUK]

I had some other issues in XP though...moving to vista solved a lot of playback issues for me

What kind of issues?

Not sure what will work for you so far i have leard that everyone seems to have different results

Very true, I've been working on a spreadsheet trying out combinations of decoders and with all of them there is at least one problem: bad video after channel change, 'shimmering', 'tearing', different playback quality between recorded and live TV, audio sync problems, bad pans and so on. Together with crashes to desktop once a day I'm beginning to loose patience with this HTPC lark

Interestingly after a reboot playback is generally better. Not sure what that points too though.

I'm considering trying out Windows 7 RC (and WMC) to see if that can improve things. XP is quite old now I suppose.

[imagn]

The main issues i could not solve with XP and got better with Vista were shimmering, this is greatly diminished in Vista, but not completely gone, but 1000 times improved, and i just couldnt find a codec that just played all video sorces mainly 720P and 1080i correctly, some worked for one but not the other, some channels gave different results to others and also i was not getting smooth playback on one channel. I did work out that deinterlacing was causing some of the issues,

In vista i will say i was not short on having any issues, but they were fixable, mainly getting hardware deinterlacing working correctly, that caused issues

I do find i get panning issues but feel it is at an acceptable level and have dicided that 99% of things are working well so no more messing around.

So i worked out that not only do you have the codec/renderer combination but ATI catalyst can also substancially change playback. I have found for me 9.4 to work well. 9.5 broke something and is horrible for me

[McBainUK]

I do find i get panning issues but feel it is at an acceptable level and have dicided that 99% of things are working well so no more messing around.

I wonder if others have perfect playback with everything or all are "putting up with" something or other.

So i worked out that not only do you have the codec/renderer combination but ATI catalyst can also substancially change playback. I have found for me 9.4 to work well. 9.5 broke something and is horrible for me

Hmm, another column for my spreadsheet... :mad:

[Graham]

I wonder if others have perfect playback with everything or all are "putting up with" something or other.

I apologise for gloating ... but ... I have had perfect playback of SD from UK DVB-T Freeview for years. It's not a scientific study, and I may be missing something, but I see "ATI" in these forums a lot more often than I see "Nvidia".

[imagn]

but I see "ATI" in these forums a lot more often than I see "Nvidia".

I second that i have no issues with my server and it has an Nvidia 8600gt in it, didnt have to mess with anything other than finding a codec, but i have several that give me excelent playback (XP, and using FSE)

[McBainUK]

imagn: how about your client with the ATI? HD3300?

[imagn]

yes all the previous items described were with the client, I have been able to configure FFdshow, one of the new builds to get decent playback on my ATI client I'd give this a read it could help setting up FFdshow for you

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=719041

I had very little issues with Server